Brother None
Joined: 11 Jul 2004
Posts: 2311
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 Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 9:24 pm Post subject: |
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Chapter 2: The Innocent Abandoned
As mentioned, even the main menu is creepy. The eyes in the center follow your cursor, and children's souls whisper your options as you scroll over them. Brrrrr.
We open with a cutscene.
Kids playing. Awesome, it's good to get back to a nice place, y'know?
AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!
 Come on, Billy. Let's play! You're not s'posed to -
AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!
 OK, OK.
AAAAAAARRRRR...ok, better now...Let's try talking to the two-mouthed kid...
Here we see TBO's charming face, which he uses when he needs something from kids. Creepy.
My name's Billy. What's yours?
The question triggers a cutscene, in which we see a lady's feet as she heads down the hall, and hear her muffled voice calling out...a name? Could it be?
 I ... I can't remember my name.
Well, mother won't let me talk to strangers so you'd better leave.
Mother only talks to us kids, not a big poophead like you.
What a little shit. Let's talk to the little girl with the deformed face and arms.
 Who are you, young lady?
My name's Jessie Hatcher. What's yours?
The same vision with the same muffled voice, but it goes on longer now, showing us a child reading a Grimwall comic. Oh my!
I ... I can't remember my name.
Well, mother won't let me talk to strangers so you'd better leave.
(Mom) Where's your mother? I'd really like to speak to her.
Mother is everywhere.
*shudders* This place is giving me the creeps. And I just got here...
Jumprope with two wooden legs? What is wrong with this place?
Also notice the boarded up school. The clock is spinning like crazy. Let's talk to the girl.
Who are you?
That's mean! I would never call you that.
 Thanks mister. You're nice. What's your name?
An apropos question, if only I knew...
My name is Max.
Fuck yeah, I have a name!
That's a nice name ... Hey! Now you aren't a stranger!
FACT: when you know someone's name, he's no longer a stranger. Keep that one in mind, kids.
(Where) Where are we? What town is this?
This is home, silly!
 I realize that this is your home, Meg, but where am I? I mean, doesn't this town have a name?
Holy shit, Max! No need to go off on the kid like that. Restrict your collargrabbing to the non-crippled kids, please.
Oh! Didn't you see the sign?
Considering I came by angel-teleportation, I saw no sign. We'll look around for it, tho'.
(Parents) I haven't seen any adults in this town. Where are your parents? Where are all of the adults?
Sorry, Max, but Mother won't let us talk about that.
Why is that?
Mother says that all adults 'cept her are bad, and we shouldn't talk to 'em.
(Bad) Adults are bad? I don't understand. Why does your mother distrust all other adults so much?
She says that 'pride leads to their destruction' or somethin' like that.
Pride leads to envy, envy leads to hate, hate...leads to suffering. Cool, I've identified Mother. It's Yoda!
What does that mean?
I ... Oh! I prob'ly said too much already!
(Rope) You really like to skip rope, huh Meg. I'm sorry, but ... doesn't that hurt, with your false legs?
The more I hear about mother the less I like it.
Let's head up to the church. The sign says:
Today's Sermon
Psalm 4:51
The Gates of Heaven
Huh *rifles through one of his bibles* There's no such thing as Psalm 4:51. Psalm 4 just runs from 1 to 9. What the heck? Psalm 4 is an evensong. Psalm 51 is the penance...oh well.
As we enter the church we are attacked by a cutscene! Max always does this "oh no my head" animation whenever a cutscene starts. Must have played too much MGS 4 to have that kind of Pavlov reaction.
The veil lifts to reveal a skull. What the heck does that mean? Did the woman die? Did the marriage doom her to die? What? What? WHAT?!
Oh well, let's just read the Church's files, 'coz I love doing that.
 'Local man question in wife's death'. Says that Marilyn Driscoll was found in her bathtub, both wrists cut. The police questioned the husband, Jeddah, as a matter of standard procedure.
This is a piece about the local preacher, a Reverend O'Toole. The reverend claimed that the comet was the 'Eye of God', a sign of heavenly anger towards the townspeople.
Interesting stu...wait, comet? No way. No fucking way. HE'S COMING. Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!!!
Ahem. Moving on, maybe the whole "name equals no stranger" thing will work on the other kids too!
You're Billy, right?
Uh huh, I told you that a zillion times already! Gees! Haven't you figured out your name yet, Mister No-Name?
I fucking hate this kid. Go Shepard on his as all you want, Max.
(Max) My name is Max.
That's disgusting! Do your parents know you tell stories like that?
Yeah, but they don't say anything. Orange poop! Orange poop!
(Parents) Where are your parents?
That's right, Max! Just imagine he's doing the Batman voice too for that line.
I'm not s'posed to tell, says Mother.
You can tell me. I'm your friend, right?
Max: good cop/bad cop in one person.
No.
(Statue) Billy, that angel statue over there ... Does it ... I mean, have you ever seen it move, very often?
Stupid Mister Orange-poop. You must have boogers for brains! Statues don't move!
Another expression for Max! We'll call this one his O-Face, because this game isn't creepy enough as it is.
Stop it mister, you're givin' me the creeps!
Hate to say it, Max, but the kid's right, that was pretty creepy.
(Game) What game are you playing?
Tic-tac-toe. Jessie's the best there is. Except when she cheats.
(Best) She's the best, huh? Maybe I could play, too. Got any tips for me?
Yeah, stupid-head. Don't lose.
I don't have much patience for games but I've got less patience for smart-mouth kids like you.
Man, this kid is going to drive Max right over the edge.
(Face) I don't mean to be rude, but ... What happened to your face?
Me? Nuthin'! Mother says I'm handysome. What's wrong with your face, mister? Is Mother making you handysome, too?
Um, no Billy. I was hurt in an accident. These bandages help me get better.
Your name is Jessie, right?
Whenever you go into conversation a second time, Max opens by reaffirming the person's name. But I guess a chronic fear of amnesia is understandable given his past.
Mmm hmmmm. The tic-tac-toe champion! What's your name?
(Max) My name is Max.
Oh. That's a dumb name.
That's a rude thing to say! What would your parents say if they heard you talk like that?
Hmph! They're not here, and you're not my dad. I don't have to listen to you!
(Parents) Where are your parents?
Max seems to go into Shepard mode whenever he asks about parents. Issues much?
Jessie! Shut up! He's a grownup! You know Mother's rule!
Dang! Almost got to the secret there, if that little shit Billy hadn't interrupted. Curse you, Billy!
(Rule) What's mother's rule?
We ... we aren't s'posed to talk about our folks. If we do, we'll be put in ... in ... the patch.
(Patch) Tell me about the pumpkin patch, Jessie. What's so special about it?
No one goes in there ... unless they were bad, like Maria! It's a bad, bad place!
(Game) What game are you playing?
Tic-tac-toe. Wanna play? I'm the best there is!
(Rules) Can't you tell me how to play?
Well, you put an X and I put down an O. In the boxes here. The idea is to get three across, or up and down, or diag'nal. If you do that, you win.
(Face) I don't mean to be rude, but ... What happened to your face?
Huh? Oh that! Mother did this! Aren't I pretty? I hope to be as pretty as Mother when I grow up! Dont't you think I'm pretty?
Oh sweet Frith and Inlè, Mother *did* that? If I ever meet that bitch I'm going all Bruce Campbell on that she-bitch.
Sure, um, yes. You're very, very pretty, Jessie. My God, what's going on here?
(Game) Let's play a game. Then we'll see if you're as good as you say.
Ha! You prob'ly think you're smart, but you're just a big, stupid boy.
A simple kid's game. Shouldn't be too hard.
I employed my old tactics from when I was a kid. Grab the middle, go for the upper right, go for top. She responded with right and lower left, meaning I can put a cross in the top and give myself two outs, hence winning!
I guess you're not as good as you thought, Jessie.
Fuck yeah, I beat a kid at a kid's game. My #1 accomplishment!
Nuh-uh! Girls is stupider!
Shut up Billy, you little retard!
 I like this girl.
(Girls) Which girls have beaten you?
Meg and Eileen ... they're her bestest friends.
We go back to Meggan (the pegleg girl) to brag about our Grate Acomplisment!
(Tic-tac-toe) Hey Meg, I beat Jessie at Tic-tac-toe. She said that you beat her once, too.
Hah! I beat her more than once. I beat her 4 times!
4 times! You must be pretty good.
Thanks!
Little braggart. Who cares if you beat her 4 times?! There!
Moving on, we find the sign Meggan mentioned. Seems the town is called "Genet".
Huh, really? Wonder if we'll see any Ramets too. SUBTLE HINT.
And, perhaps because the kids on the swings seem happy (and, oddly enough, perfectly normal) you can't talk to them. We head further up the path and find an abandoned house with a newspaper clipping.
It's an obituary ... 'Marilyn Lee Driscoll, age 32, died Saturday ... Husband Jeddah ... daughter Carol ... and son Lawrence.'
Yeah, the Driscoll suspect-death was mentioned before.
The abandoned town hall. The clown poster just gives this location it's final requisite drop of creepiness.
There's also more notes to read here.
An article about a 'new star in the sky'. Many people saw the star ... but an astronomer claims that the star is actually a comet.
Article about the annual town pumpkin fair. Supposed to be the 'biggest yet'. Let me know when it starts.
Interesting news. Seems that a comet altered its path and head for Earth. 'The eye of God lights up the Night Sky'
The actual newspaper avatar (I'm just recycling the same clipping) says 'The Eye of God stares down on Genet'. Creepy.
Heading down the path leads us to some more kids. First is one sitting alone aside from the rest, and according to Max his face "looks like it is melting". Ewwww.
Hi. What's your name?
 Marty Johns ... what's your name?
(Max) My name is Max.
(Adults) I haven't seen any adults in town. Where are your parents? Where are all of the adults?
Um ... I have a ball. I can bounce it.
(Ball) That sure is a nice ball. I used to have one just like it.
Really? This one's mine.
(Others) Why aren't you playing with the others?
I like my ball ... and rides. Be careful, mister pig is almost broke.
Those rides do look fun. Let's try 'em out!
Teeheee! The sickly horse is also fun! The pig...
...breaks on the first go. Oh well. Let's pick it up and keep it because that's what adventure gamers do! They break kiddy rides and then take 'em, fuck yeah!
Heading down, entering the cemetery opens up another cutscene.
An old news broadcast flickers in. Looks like they're burying a kid there. Wonder if the kiddy deaths have to do with the comet. So many implications!
The headstones are marked. Troika-style, it seems.
Yes, an open mausoleum with a rotting corpse in it. Seems like a great place to have kids play.
Shit yeah now we're talking. Whatever alien armies come out of that comet I'll be ready, Freeman-style!
Time to talk to all these kids. The first one is a three-armed specimen, near the gate.
What's your name?
 What's it to ya, dumbass?
Nothing. Certainly nothing worth getting dunked in the river over, don't you think?
 Holy shit. Max Shepard is pretty Xtreme.
Jeez, mister, don't get all bent out of shape. I was just kiddin'. My name's Dennis O'Toole. What's yours?
(Max) My name is Max.
Hmph! That figures! What a stupid name.
(Reverend) The newspapers mentioned a Reverend O'Toole. Are you related to him?
Yeah, he's my old man.
I'd like to speak to your father. Is he close by?
Oh he's really close, but you can't talk to him.
Jeesh, enough with the ominous foreshadowing already!
Why not?
Because only Mother is allowed to.
(Allowed) Only mother? You mean you're not allowed to see your own father?
Yup. Mother says that they got to learn about raisin' us kids, so we should leave 'em alone.
Alone where?
Hmph! How dumb do you think I am? I ain't no squealer!
(Church) Is that your father's church across town?
Uh-huh, that's St. Michael's church.
(Parents) I haven't seen any any adults in this town. Where are your parents? Where are all of the adults?
Mother took care of them. In fact, I'd watch my step if I were you. After all, you're the only adult in town, and Mother don't like adults.
(Watch) 'Watch my step'? I've had enough of you and your little threads, kid.
Whoa! Calm down, mister. I was just tellin' ya to be careful, that's all.
 Max should try to keep his Shepard side in check a bit more. Next kid is the one sitting on the ground, "little more than a baby".
Hi there. What's your name, kid?
 Derek. What's yours?
See? He's holding a lollipop. It's just a toddler. Just a normal toddler. Aha. Ahahahaa. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAH!!!
This place is starting to get to me.
(Max) My name is Max.
Hi Max. I'm Derek.
What? What the heck's he talking about? That screen follows just on the "I'm Derek" reply, I have no idea what it's referring to.
(Adults) I haven't seen any adults in this town. Where are your parents? Where are all of the adults?
I dunno.
(Cemetery) Why are all you kids here in the cemetery?
'Cause Dennis says so.
'k. Next is the...Hunchback of Notre Dame running around.
What's your name?
 Well, since all the adults went away, everyone calls me Lumpy ...
(Real name) Do you have another name? A real name?
Lumpy suits him, though.
(Max) My name is Max.
It isn't as cool as my name, but it's OK. I guess that means you ain't a stranger no more ... so I can talk to you, right?
Uh, right.
Even Max is beginning to question the whole logic of identification being equal to familiarization.
(Adults) I haven't seen any adults in this town. Where are your parents? Where are all of the adults?
Mother says we're not s'posed to talk to anyone 'bout that. 'Specially you big people. Sorry.
(Driscoll) I read the town newspapers and saw some articles about a man named Jeddah Driscoll. Was he your father?
Yeah.
(Mom) I'm sorry to hear about your mom. But if she's dead, who is this 'Mother' that you keep talking about?
She's my new mom ... and she promised me that she won't ever go away.
(Promise) How can she promise that? I mean, we all ... uh ... 'go away'.
Nuh-uh! Mother said we'll live forever after she's finished with us!
Right. Continuing down the line we move to the girl on the bench, whose legs are "like tree roots".
Helly, young lady, What's your name?
 Eileen Daily. What's yours?
(Max) My name is Max.
That's a nice name.
Awwww geee. What a nice kid, even if she's got the whole glowing-eyes thing going on.
(Adults) I haven't seen any adults in this town. Where are your parents? Where are all of the adults?
They just sort of, well, they just went away.
Away to where? They left you kids all alone?
Oh, we're not alone! Mother is here to take care of us!
(Mom) Where is your mother? I'd really like to talk to her.
Gee, I'm sorry mister Max, but we're not supposed to tell no one.
Why not?
'Cause Mother doesn't want to be disturbed while she's resting.
(Cemetery) Why are all you kids here in the cemetery?
Our leader Dennis likes to play hide-and-go-seek here.
(Play) Can I play a game of hide-and-seek with you?
You'd have to ask Dennis, but I'd rather not play right now. I was just going to plant my pretty pumpkins.
You like pumpkins, huh?
Mm-hmm. I like the pretty orange color.
(Orange) Orange, huh? That reminds me of a story that Billy told me.
Oh yuck! Did he tell you that awful cat story?
That's gross, huh?
Yeah! Just like Billy!
Hah, Billy's luck with the ladies is at absolute zero. I love it.
(Jessie) Do you play tic-tac-toe with Jessie?
Shit, all these kids whooped Jessie good. Guess my accomplishment wasn't that special. 
Only one kid left in the cemetery, and it's a mottled and leafy-faced one.
 Hi there. What's your name, kid?
My name's Marcus ... Marcus Williams. What's yours?
(Max) My name is Max.
Hi Max. I guess you're not a stranger anymore.
(Adults) I haven't seen any adults in this town. Where are your parents? Where are all of the adults?
Mother made 'em go away.
Away to where?
Sorry, mister, but I'm not allowed to tell you!
(Cemetery) Why are all you kids here in the cemetery?
'Cause Dennis likes it here.
Not much help there. Time to confront Dennis about his cemetery-dwelling ways.
(Cemetery) Why are all you kids here in the cemetery?
'Cause we like it here. The other little kids are too chicken to play here!
Why? What do you play?
They play kid games like tic-tac-toe. We play hide-and-go-seek! And we're the best! Heck, we even have a prize you can win!
phat loot?
(Best) What makes you think you're the best?
Because we have a secret weapon!
Really? What is it?
If I told you, then it wouldn't be a secret!
(Prize) A prize for winning, huh? What is it?
They keys to the town store! There's a lot of cool stuff inside! Our fort ... our candy ... everything!
phat loot!
(Rules) Um, it's been a while since I played this game. Could you tell me the rules?
Well that sounds pretty easy.
Hah! You say that now, but just wait until you try to find us!
(Play) Can I play a game of hide-and-seek with you?
Yeah, if you really want to show everyone what a big, fat loser you are!
That's it, big mouth. You better pray that I don't find you. Let's go!
Fuck yeah, Max, time to beat even more kids at kid's games! We rock!
And the place is empty. Time to sniff out them darned kids.
While doing so I happen upon spots I had heretofore skipped. Like these kids dancing around the pumpkin and singing. Continued clicking on 'em gets you more comments from Max.
Their singing ... so haunting ...
Shut up! Shut up! I can't take it anymore!
No response, tho'. And Max does not go crazy enough to take the hedge clippers to their ears.
Ohohohoh, what's that? A tub of lard hiding in a tub of wood?
And he runs off.
A path down leads to a beach with a kid we missed earlier. Let's hear him out.
Hi there. What's your name, kid?
Timmy O'Toole? Really?
(Max) My name is Max.
 That's a good name. Now you're not a stranger.
(Adults) I haven't seen any adults in this town. Where are your parents? Where are all of the adults?
Mother said God made them all go away, 'cause we're his special children.
Special children? What does your mother mean by that?
Mother said that God wanted her to protect His special children, so he sent her to save us.
(Save) Save you from what?
From the disease, of course.
Disease?
Mm-hm, the disease of meat.
At first I thought he said "disease of the meat", which considering their...status would make sense. But no, he means disease of meat, period.
(Meat) Meat? Is she a vegetarian?
What's a vegiteareeyon?
It's someone who eats plants, not animals.
Well, I think that's what she is.
Yeah, I think so too SUBTLE HINT.
(Fishing) How are the fish biting today?
Not so good ... but I could sit here all day, so I don't care.
You mean you never go into town?
Well, only to go to church. But I haven't heard the call to mass in a long time.
(Mass) The call to mass? What's that?
Father would ring the bell. But since all the adults went away, no one's been able to ring it.
Really? How come?
Dennis cut the rope, so no one can reach it.
(O'Toole) I've read some newspapers and they mention a Reverend O'Toole. Is he a relative of yours?
Yes. He's my father.
I'd like to speak with your father. Is he close by?
Sort of, but Mother said never speak about it.
Why?
I'm sorry, I just can't talk about it or I'll get in trouble.
(Trouble) What kind of trouble?
I'll be punished like Maria was! I don't wanna go to the patch!
Punished? You mean in that pumpkin patch on the other side of town?
Wait what? Max knows something I don't, I haven't seen no pumpkin patch.
Yes! Can we talk about something else? I'm getting scared.
Okay, okay. I didn't mean to upset you.
(Dennis) Isn't Dennis your brother?
Yes, but I don't like him. He's mean to me!
Mean? How is he mean to you?
He won't let me play hide-and-go-seek with him and his friends. He says I'm just a stupid little kid.
The bastard!
Inspecting this nearby wrecked car reveals it still has a full tank, but it doesn't seem like there's anything we can do about it. If I only still had my towel I could soak it in the fuel, 'coz that's what adventure gamers do!
We go on looking for the kids...
Derek's in the church.
Eileen's in the tree.
Marcus is hiding under the bed in the abandoned shack.
That leaves Dennis, who is nowhere to be found. Then again, there are a few closed houses in the town...
...and a little creative use of tools should help fix that.
Hells yeah. It makes sense if he's in here I guess, kids can easily just crawl through a window, so let's search this dusty old school...
...
Now that is just seriously fucked up...
Decayed bodies! Are these the parents? If I ask the kids directly, it might upset them.
What? No offense, Max, but you just found one of the kids hiding amongst the corpses. I think they're beyond the mental shock already.
There you are. My God, what kind of hiding place is this?
Ugh. So, that's that, let's go collect our prize.
(Found) Hah! That wasn't so tough. I found everyone and won fair and square. Now give me the key to the store.
Hmph! You big dolt! You forgot about our secret weapon!
(Forgot) I should have known you would cheat! What kind of crap are you trying to pull?
Hey, don't get upset, mister. I told you the rules, I told you about the secret weapon, and you didn't win.
What are you talking about? I found all of you!
Heh heh heh! You didn't find all of us!
What?!
Hhhmph. So, if the "loooong time" hint isn't obvious enough, you'll notice lil' Eileen up there spading away at her pumpkin patch (I guess), and as the conversation ends she finishes up and drops her shovel.
Go ahead! I'm all done! Mother will be so proud of me when she wakes up!
This game better be pulling my chain.
This game is not pulling my chain.
Missed by mother indeed.
Remember we read about Carol before, she's Larry's sister, her mother died under suspicious circumstances and I think she's the one we saw buried in the cutscene.
Sanitarium: Digging up kiddy corpses.
The moment we finish Larry comes in and picks up his sister's body. A touching moment?
...This game is seriously fucked up man...
Let's hear out Larry about his little wheelcart escapades.
(Wagon) I see that you and Carol are ... um, very close.
Yeah, I'm so happy she's back! Thanks for helpin' me find her!
Uhh, sure ... I guess.
Fuck it, let's claim our prize. Like me, Max is not happy about this little bit of fucked-uppery.
(Secret weapon) All right, you twisted little freak. I dug up your 'secret weapon'. Satisfied? Now hand over the keys.
Thanks, Dennis.
I need a break. And this update is a bit big (sorry about that). More adventure game-isms later! This is the farthest I got in this game, so far, we'll see what the future holds.
Last edited by Brother None on Wed Dec 09, 2009 11:13 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Hon, you're not going to believe it ... I've found the answer!! All those years ... I should have seen it! There's more...I'll tell you when I get home.
D- da- da- Don! I haven't heard you before. Wh- who are you?
Lenny. I'm Lenny. Lenny's my name.
Martin. Martin I said.
Poor taste, that man.
A memo regarding the tower bridge. 'Due to recent problems with the generator, all employees are asked to keep the tower bridge extened at all times ... It will be extremely difficult to extend the bridge from the outer ring should the power go out ...'
Listen! Hear the cries of the children! The innocent are dying and you only think of yourself? Can you not see that the light heaven has dimmed?
